Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 648 | Put Off The Old. Put on Christ.

Transcript

648 | Put Off The Old. Put on Christ. · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

0:06
Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast.
0:10
With Kimberly Miller, where we believe that every man, woman,
0:14
boy, and girl must come to Jesus just like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
0:20
Our highest priority is helping you experience the reality of God in your everyday life.
0:26
Whether you're listening in our app, on your favorite podcast platform,
0:30
are on our website at watwm.org.
0:34
We invite you to sit down with us as we open the scriptures to learn more about
0:39
who God is and to strengthen your daily walk.
1:03
Before coming to Christ, we wore the garments of the old life—sin,
1:08
selfishness, anger, impurity, pride, and falsehood.
1:13
But when Christ saves us, He does not merely improve our old life.
1:18
He gives us a new life. We're called to take off the old clothing and put on
1:23
the character of Christ.
1:25
Colossians 3, 5-17 teaches born-again believers by the power of Jesus in their
1:30
lives to strip away their old, earthly habits and replace them with Christ-like character.
1:38
Join us in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on a
1:42
journey through the Scriptures, revealing the cleaning and transforming power of Christ.
1:48
Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries.
1:53
Last Monday, I spoke to you about Colossians 3, verses 1 through 5, 1 through 4.
2:03
And it's about how we are to set our affections on things above because of who
2:09
God is and what God has done for us.
2:12
And so today, we're going to just carry on through Colossians 3, verses 5 through 17.
2:19
And we're going to talk about what Paul is telling us when he tells us to put
2:23
off the old and put on Christ.
2:28
As you're thinking about and finding Colossians 3, verses 5 through 17,
2:33
that we're getting ready to read, I want you to think about this verse, 2 Corinthians 5, 17.
2:39
This is the verse that I want you to filter everything we talk about in Colossians 3, 5 through 17.
2:47
I want that to form the boundaries for you, to give you something to
2:52
hold on to as you place the new thoughts and concepts that God is giving you
2:59
from Colossians 3, verses 5 through 17.
3:03
2 Corinthians 5, 17 says this, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
3:10
Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new.
3:16
It doesn't take long to fully understand why that would be the case, because
3:22
when we are unsaved, when we don't have Jesus dwelling in us,
3:26
we cannot have the light in us, and we would not act, behave,
3:30
look, or be the same as we are
3:34
once we receive Jesus as Savior, and he places inside of us the Holy Spirit
3:39
to teach us, to lead us, to guide us, to direct us, and he puts inside of us
3:44
his light, commissioning us to be the light of the world.
3:48
In Matthew 5, verse 16, he says, To let your light so shine before men that
3:54
they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
3:58
When we set our affections on things above, as we spoke about in the last message,
4:04
then our motivations, our desires, and our goals and our purposes are all heavenly,
4:12
and they are all pointing towards Jesus.
4:15
When that is the case, then—.
4:19
Colossians 3, 5-17 easily unfold in our lives,
4:25
showing us how we are different and how that transformation that God does in
4:32
our heart and our soul is also like the transformation he does when he talks
4:37
about it in Romans 12, 1-2.
4:40
So let's read in your hearing Colossians 3, 5-17.
4:46
Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth, fornication,
4:52
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concursance, and covetousness, which is idolatry,
4:59
for which things sakes the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience,
5:04
in the which ye also walked some time when ye lived in them.
5:08
But now ye also put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy,
5:12
filthy communication out of your mouth.
5:16
Lie not one to another seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds
5:21
and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him,
5:26
where there is neither greek nor jews circumcision or uncircumcision barbarian
5:32
syphithian bond nor free but christ is all in all.
5:37
Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies.
5:43
Kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another
5:48
and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any,
5:52
even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
5:55
And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness,
6:00
and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also you are called
6:04
in one body, and be ye thankful.
6:07
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing
6:12
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
6:19
And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus
6:24
Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Let's pray.
6:29
Lord, we ask that you would have your richest blessings upon the reading of your word.
6:33
We pray that you would open our hearts and our minds, that you would separate
6:37
us from the things around us, and that you would remove all distractions,
6:42
opening our heart and mind, that we would hear what you would have to say.
6:46
This lesson, Lord, coming directly from you and your word, is one that teaches
6:51
us how, as Christians, we should live our lives.
6:54
And Lord, help us to ask you for the courage, the wisdom, and the strength,
7:01
and the power to put off the old and to put on you.
7:05
Lord, we love you, and we praise you, and we thank you. We ask that you would
7:09
remove me this message as far as the east is from the west. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
7:17
As I read in your hearing, what struck out in my mind are three key points that
7:26
Paul reveals to us in Colossians 3, 5 through 17.
7:31
One, we are to put sin to death.
7:35
We're to get rid of it. We're to kill it.
7:37
We don't hide it. We don't put it in a box. We get rid of it.
7:41
We remove it from our lives.
7:43
We are to put on Christ-like character. We are to wear Christ both inwardly
7:50
and outwardly, and we are to let Christ rule in every part of our life.
7:56
That means that he has the supreme authority over all of us in all situations
8:02
and in every circumstance.
8:06
You and I, who name the name of Jesus, we have been raised with Christ.
8:13
And so we must put to death the old way of living and put on the new life that reflects him.
8:20
We are born into the family of God, and you resemble your earthly family.
8:26
You'll have traits, your eyes, your facial features, your build,
8:32
your likes, your dislikes,
8:35
perhaps your height, all these different things that people can look and say, wow,
8:41
I can see the resemblance of your mother.
8:44
I can see the resemblance of your father.
8:47
As Christians born into the family of God, people should be able to look at
8:52
us and say, I see the resemblance of your heavenly father in you.
8:57
You have your father's eyes. You see the needs, wants, and hurts of others.
9:01
You have your father's ability to go and assist and help. I watch you go through
9:08
in your hands and your feet.
9:10
They're like the fathers because you're always about doing good.
9:13
We are part of the family of God, and Paul is reminding us that because of the transforming power
9:20
of the Holy Spirit, when we become saved in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
9:25
we ought to look like him, act like him, and be like Jesus.
9:31
As we begin to look at each of these points, I want you to look at verse 5.
9:37
He tells us very clearly that we are to kill the things that don't belong in our life.
9:46
That we are to put to death, mortify in our bodies, put to death sin.
9:55
Now, he begins to name them. But what I want you to see is he says kill them. Don't manage them.
10:03
Don't tolerate them. Don't make peace with them. Don't coexist with them.
10:09
Put your flesh to death. Kill it.
10:15
This is something that I think many of us just think is going to happen.
10:21
We get saved, and just like that, we're never going to want to sin again.
10:26
We're never going to be tempted again.
10:28
We don't have to fight our flesh. Hey, that's not true.
10:32
The difference is that we don't have to give in to the flesh because we now
10:37
have the Holy Spirit in us, and sin has no more dominion over us.
10:42
So if we are sinning, it's because we're choosing to do so.
10:47
And some of us just choose not to call these things that we're doing that are
10:52
contrary to the Word of God sin.
10:55
We call them a lot of things, but we don't name them what they are. But Paul is very clear.
11:02
And today, that's what we're going to look at. We're going to look at what the
11:05
Word of God says. It doesn't matter what you think or I think.
11:11
It doesn't matter whether we wish it wasn't that way or whether we agree with what God is requiring.
11:19
What matters is he said it, therefore we have to embrace it.
11:24
We have to learn to agree with it, and we have to live according to his word.
11:31
And because he saved us, because we've been raised from the fiery pits of hell
11:39
when we accept Jesus Christ, and we are raised up,
11:43
from the pits of sin with Jesus Christ and hid in him, then our lives should reflect who he is.
11:52
In Colossians 3.5, he's telling us that we need to manage our lives in such
11:59
a way that we put sin to death We kill it.
12:04
Because sin isn't harmless. That little so-called white lie,
12:10
you're calling it a white lie. The Lord says if you deceive or lie that you are sinning.
12:15
They're all the same color to him, black, and they are bad.
12:20
And we have to be forgiven for that.
12:24
Sin is a deadly enemy.
12:27
And playing with sin is like playing with fire.
12:31
If you know to do right and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Scripture says that.
12:38
And so sometimes we just walk the edge of getting ready to sin.
12:45
Or we spend a lot of time justifying that action and saying,
12:51
well, that's not what Jesus really meant. Or he loves me. He understands.
12:58
Yeah, he understands. Sin is sin. You don't get a waiver.
13:04
God isn't going to allow you to do anything that is contrary to these scriptures
13:08
and bless you and call it okay.
13:12
The Holy Spirit is going to convict you if you are truly born again.
13:18
Every time you step out of God's will, every time you operate contrary to his
13:27
word, and plainly said, each time you sin.
13:32
If you're not feeling convicted by sinful actions, then you need to get back
13:39
on your knees and have a conversation with the Lord.
13:42
Because the Spirit in you, the Holy Spirit, isn't going to let you live a life,
13:48
that is sinful and wicked.
13:51
No, it's going to convict you. He's going to convict you.
13:54
The Holy Spirit is going to come to you and say, this is not how the child of
13:58
God acts, and you're going to feel repentant.
14:02
The difference between a saved sinner and a
14:07
sinner is that the saved sinner doesn't intentionally, purposely,
14:12
habitually, and continually do sinful, wicked things, because when they do them,
14:17
they have a contrite spirit that is convicted, and they turn away.
14:22
That's what repentance means, to turn away from your sinful actions.
14:28
So as we begin to look at this, it's important that you're just honest with
14:32
yourself, that you allow yourself to understand that although sin promises you pleasure.
14:39
In fact, Moses says, they're talking about Moses here,
14:44
in Hebrews in verse 25 of chapter 11, and Moses is saying this,
14:51
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the
14:56
pleasures of sin for a season.
14:58
Moses changed his life to do the right thing, but he recognizes and he declares
15:05
in our hearing that there is pleasure in sin for a season.
15:10
But I submit to you that sin will take you further than you want to go,
15:17
keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
15:23
See, because that pleasure is momentary.
15:27
But Romans 6.23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God
15:33
is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
15:35
Sin is on one side, and the gift of God is on the other side.
15:40
And God promises life and joy and abundant life.
15:44
And sin always produces death.
15:49
Death of relationships, death of your holiness, death of the way that you operate in a normal way.
15:58
It always is destructive.
16:01
Satan doesn't want any good thing for you.
16:05
In fact, sin produces a sense of slavery.
16:10
But Scripture says that sin has no more dominion over us.
16:15
Sinful, wicked ways often cause us to feel shameful.
16:19
People who are caught up in alcohol and gambling,
16:25
and using the money that's needed for necessities of their home and wasting
16:31
them and squandering them on alcohol and gambling, They always feel bad,
16:37
when it's over, and they wish they hadn't done it.
16:40
Sin is shameful, but Jesus wiped away the shame, and there is now no more condemnation
16:47
to them that are in Christ Jesus.
16:50
It separates us.
16:53
It separates us from our loved ones. It separates us from our families.
16:57
It often separates us from our jobs.
17:00
It separates us from our friendships.
17:03
It also separates us from God, not from God's love.
17:06
Romans 8, 38 and 39 tells us that nothing will separate us from the love of
17:10
God, but it separates us from the favor of God.
17:14
It separates us from God being able to answer those prayers and to bless our
17:20
lives, because he's not going to bless a life that is living contrary to his word.
17:26
The psalmist David tells us that God will not hear the prayers of those that
17:30
have iniquity or sin in their hearts,
17:33
paul is telling us you got to put off the old and you got to put on the new
17:39
and then he's explaining to us what these old things are in fact he is clear
17:43
here's what he tells us we have to reject
17:46
we have to jet reject sexual morality.
17:50
We have to reject impurity, evil desires, covetousness, or greed.
17:57
That's a form of idolatry. Greed is idolatry because it places something created above the creator.
18:07
Greed, wanting what someone else has, produces hate and anger,
18:11
and anger becomes sinful when it becomes controlling over us,
18:17
produces wrath and malice.
18:20
It'll cause us to slander other people and damage their reputations all in a word all in a moment,
18:30
sometimes it's because we take bad information we trust the wrong people our
18:35
discernment is off other times
18:38
it's because we have a momentary lapse of the love of God in us and we
18:43
begin to want to harm someone else because somehow we're threatened by what
18:47
they have but God said be content with all things that you have,
18:50
for I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hey, you got me.
18:54
You don't need anything else.
18:56
Everything you need, I'm supplying, and I'll give you the strength to take care
19:00
of it, he tells us in Philippians 4, 13 and 19.
19:04
He's got a plan for you, and it's a good plan. He tells us that in Jeremiah 29, 11.
19:09
But we got to get rid of these things. And some of you just probably are going
19:14
to not like this one at all. But I didn't make it up.
19:18
It's right there in the word. We got to get rid of filthy communication.
19:26
That doesn't just mean dirty words. It also means negative language,
19:32
hurtful words, words with the intent to cut.
19:37
Even if what you say is repeated and others can't find what's wrong in it, it's your tone.
19:44
It's what you're intending to convey. And he says, stop it.
19:48
We are to use our mouth and our tongues for edification and to build people
19:53
up and to exhort one another.
19:56
The devil is about chaos and destruction, about division and hatred.
20:04
That's what the old man is about. We're not about that.
20:09
We're about the love of God. We're about being his hands and feet.
20:14
We're about being changed in a wicked world for a heavenly vision.
20:20
Jesus loves me. This I know. and that has changed everything for me.
20:27
He finishes his list with lying, because lying distorts the truths.
20:32
It messes up trust, and he says, Thou shalt not lie in his Ten Commandments.
20:38
So as you listen to what God is writing through Paul in Colossians 3 about the
20:45
things we need to get rid of, we need to reject, we need to remove from our lives,
20:50
you see that he's touching both things that are inward and outward.
20:55
Sin isn't just limited to what we do with our bodies.
20:58
It includes what we entertain in our minds, what we harbor in our hearts,
21:05
and speak with our mouths.
21:08
We are to have our entire being subject to God.
21:13
He is to be the supreme authority in our lives.
21:18
What he's telling us here in Colossians 3.7 is this.
21:23
In the which he also walked sometime when you lived in them.
21:27
Those are all those things that your life is about before you have Jesus.
21:32
And so Paul is reminding us that those things belong to the old life,
21:38
the formal, sinful, fleshly life.
21:41
There's no room in the life of a child of God, an ambassador of the King of
21:47
Kings, the light of the world, to have any of that in it.
21:52
Paul's reminding us that we once walked in that way.
21:58
Once they described our past, but they don't define our present.
22:04
And he doesn't remember our past against us once we have been forgiven.
22:10
It's your friends, it's your families, it's your co-workers, it's your record.
22:16
But God isn't holding it against you. Sometimes it's you yourself.
22:21
You cannot forgive yourself.
22:24
And you've placed yourself on the throne of your heart above God because he
22:28
has forgiven you. But you haven't forgiven yourself.
22:31
So you've placed yourself above him and determined your ruling of whether you're
22:36
forgiven or not is more accurate than his.
22:41
Jesus loves me. This I know. The Bible tells me so.
22:46
Christians aren't people who never sin or struggle.
22:50
Christians are people who no longer make peace with sin. They're no longer okay with it.
22:57
Our sinful ways convict us. When we fall, we confess.
23:04
When we are tempted, we resist.
23:08
When sin gains influence and control, we bring it into the light of God and His grace.
23:14
And we seek God's grace and forgiveness.
23:17
In 1 John 1.9, we are given this beautiful promise.
23:21
If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
23:25
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
23:28
In James 4.4, it reiterates what Paul is telling us in Colossians 3,
23:33
because he says, ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship
23:40
of the world is enmity with God.
23:42
Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Are you an enemy of God?
23:48
It's very important that you fully understand that when he's calling you an
23:54
adulterer or an adulteress, he's not just talking about,
23:59
a sinful, sexual, immoral act.
24:04
He's telling you, you belong to me.
24:08
You are my bride, and you are cheating on me with the things of the world.
24:15
You are having a divided heart.
24:19
You're loving me and trying to love the world. And he was clear.
24:23
He'll spew you out of your mouth if you're lukewarm. You can't sit and straddle the fence.
24:27
You're either going to love God or you're not going to love God,
24:29
and that's all he's going to take, and he's only going to take that he is supreme
24:34
and he is above all and that you have no other gods above him.
24:39
Are you an enemy of God? Own it, if that's how you're living,
24:44
and immediately repent and receive the forgiveness of the Lord.
24:49
Putting sin to death isn't accomplished by just saying it or willpower alone. You can't do that.
24:56
It happens through the power of the Holy Spirit, through prayer,
25:00
through God's Word, through accountability, and through daily dependence on Christ.
25:05
It's walking in obedience. And when you see you're sidestepping what needs to
25:10
happen, then what you do is you confess and you repent and you receive.
25:19
So you can't stay away from God and truly have a relationship with him.
25:27
You got to return to him for forgiveness. You got to repent of your sin and
25:34
you got to receive his forgiveness.
25:37
You can't put on clean garments while clinging to the old ones.
25:43
If you've got a terribly muddy shirt that's soaked with mud and grime and you
25:48
put on a pristine white shirt over it, that shirt is not going to work.
25:53
It's not going to be white. It's going to become like the mud.
25:59
We cannot put on clean garments while clinging to the old garments.
26:03
You've got to take them off and take off the old life.
26:08
Put on the Christ-like character that Paul talks about in verse 12. Let's read verse 12.
26:17
Here's what he says. Put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
26:23
vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.
26:29
Paul doesn't say to begin by becoming acceptable God and then live differently.
26:35
Don't miss the order.
26:39
He says that we're already chosen, holy and beloved in Christ.
26:44
Were holy and beloved, chosen by the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
26:51
He's telling us our obedience flows from our identity.
26:57
We follow Christ because we are His.
27:01
We have Him, so we are different.
27:08
We don't try to clean ourselves from the outside and think we've got it.
27:14
No, we come to him in repentance, asking him to save us and to forgive us.
27:23
And we come to him holy and chosen.
27:28
And he washes us white as snow, gives us the Holy Spirit.
27:32
And when we are convicted of our sins, we're still part of the family. He doesn't throw us out.
27:39
No man can pluck us out of his hand.
27:44
You got to come to him and let him clean you up, and you can be saved and holy
27:49
because of who Christ is.
27:51
You don't behave like Christians in order to become loved by God.
27:56
You are loved by God already.
28:01
No, my friend, you behave like Christians because in Christ you're already loved.
28:08
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
28:14
We read here that Christians receive a new wardrobe.
28:18
All these things we put off. So you can't out give God. Whatever it is that
28:23
you're giving up, he's going to give you big time more.
28:26
And it'll be better than you could ever think or imagine.
28:29
But here's what we receive. We receive compassion.
28:34
Jesus was moved with compassion. He went about doing good because he was compassionate.
28:39
We receive kindness, which is love expressed in action.
28:44
We put on a wardrobe of humility, humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of
28:51
God, that he may exalt us in due time.
28:54
Don't get confused on what humility means. Humility doesn't mean thinking that
29:00
we have no value. It's not about being a martyr.
29:04
It means we stop making ourselves the center of everything.
29:08
It means we aren't our primary focus. We love others.
29:14
In fact, when I was growing up, they had this little acronym thing called joy.
29:20
If you wanted to have joy in your life, you put Jesus first,
29:25
others second, and yourself last.
29:30
Humility means we admit when we are wrong, we apologize sincerely,
29:37
and we serve because we love the Lord, not because we want the stage or the applause.
29:43
He further begins to tell us to put on meekness.
29:47
Meekness isn't weakness. In fact, I think those who are the most meek are clearly
29:55
the strongest because they are fully relying on God.
30:00
They are taking every cue and every move from him. Every action is strengthened
30:06
and empowered by who he is.
30:09
It's strength under control. It's the ability to respond gently when we have
30:15
the power to respond harshly.
30:18
Meekness is choosing God's way.
30:22
He tells us to put on patience, bearing with people who are difficult.
30:27
I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but sometimes you're that person
30:31
to somebody else, so you might want to be good to those that are difficult,
30:35
so that when you are that person,
30:40
perhaps they will be patient with you.
30:43
God is patient with us day in and day out, so we should be patient with others.
30:49
And then when we get to verse 13, here's what he says, forbearing one another
30:53
and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any,
30:57
even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. We're to forgive.
31:02
We have to live in community, so how are you going to respond to those around you?
31:08
You need to understand that the amount or the standard of your forgiveness isn't
31:15
measured against the size of the offense.
31:19
The standard or the measurement by which you forgive others is measured against the forgiveness.
31:27
Christ gives to us.
31:30
He tells us that we have to forgive. If we don't forgive, he's not going to forgive us.
31:38
Jesus didn't forgive us because our sin was small. He forgave us because his grace was great.
31:46
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
31:51
Forgiveness doesn't mean pretending the evil didn't happen. It doesn't eliminate
31:56
appropriate boundaries or accountability.
31:59
But it does mean surrendering our desire for revenge and entrusting justice to God.
32:06
Verse 14, And above all these things, put on charity or love,
32:11
which is the bond, perfectness.
32:14
Above all, put on love.
32:17
Love is the outer garment that holds everything else together.
32:22
All of these pieces of our new wardrobe are held together by love.
32:31
Without love, patience becomes tolerance.
32:36
Truth becomes cruelty.
32:40
Service becomes pride. Love isn't just a feeling. Love is a choice.
32:47
And there are times it's harder than others.
32:50
But we are to love as Christ loves us. In 1 John 3.23, he says,
32:55
And this is the commandment, that we should believe on the name of the Son of
32:59
Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment.
33:05
It wasn't a choice.
33:07
It's not a suggestion. It's a commandment, love one another.
33:13
And sometimes you got to dig deep.
33:15
People will hurt you.
33:17
People will do the wrong thing. Sometimes on purpose.
33:22
Sometimes because they're making bad decisions based on bad data.
33:28
Sometimes because their discernment stinks sometimes because they just seem
33:34
to not know better but in every one of those circumstances you have the choice
33:40
to either hang them out to dry,
33:43
or to ask the Lord to help you to love them,
33:48
because I promise you you come to the Lord asking for forgiveness for far more
33:55
egregious things than what we won't forgive others for.
34:01
And how many times have you found yourself on the wrong side of defending God?
34:08
Somehow you just were at the water cooler and people were saying bad,
34:13
dirty jokes or someone was gossiping about somebody else and you chose to be quiet.
34:20
Or perhaps you were in a meeting or you were somewhere and someone took the
34:24
Lord's name in vain and you didn't defend him.
34:28
You just stayed quiet, tried to blend in, just hoping it would go away.
34:34
Friends, there are people we won't forgive because they don't defend us.
34:37
But how many times do we miss the opportunity to defend him?
34:44
And then in verse 15, he says this, And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
34:49
to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.
34:53
Christ's peace is to govern our hearts.
34:57
If you're stressed all the time and you're living a chaotic life,
35:01
you're not living the life that God has promised you.
35:04
He tells us in Philippians 4, 6, and 7, that if we would just be anxious for
35:09
nothing, but in everything with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
35:12
let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God shall keep your
35:16
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
35:18
He's telling us in this verse to let peace be what rules and governs our heart.
35:26
It's what needs to make our decisions.
35:30
Yep, you heard me. this verse is telling us you don't get to make decisions
35:37
that you know that are going to cause division, chaos, strife, and stress.
35:44
Now, you're to live peaceably as possible with all men.
35:49
You are to promote peace, not justice for you getting your right,
35:57
not trying to win the fight, Even if you're right,
36:02
you're to promote peace.
36:05
See, we are called to do right. We don't have to be right.
36:11
And if we're doing right, then we're going to be walking in the right way.
36:15
But no one around us may ever acknowledge that.
36:19
And we've got to be okay with that. Because rest assured that the King of Kings
36:24
and the Lord of Lords is watching every move you make.
36:29
And he's never left you or forsaken you.
36:33
Then he says this, you can't have these final words to be negative thoughts.
36:41
They can't be what you're shooting for.
36:45
You have to bring all things under Christ's rule and authority.
36:50
You've got to humble yourself and allow him to be God.
36:56
Verse 16 tells us how we can help make that happen.
37:00
In verse 16 he says let the word of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom
37:05
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
37:10
singing with grace in your hearts to the lord,
37:13
they're having a song fest there's joy in their hearts singing is a symbolic of joy,
37:21
words shouldn't be foreign to you. You're told in 2 Timothy 2.15,
37:27
to study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
37:31
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
37:34
You should be familiar more than that's Old Testament and that's New Testament,
37:40
more than those are the red words of Jesus, more than that's the Ten Commandments.
37:45
All of those are amazing and good, but you need to be familiar with the promises of God,
37:51
with the requirements of those who are living for him, like Colossians chapter
37:56
3 should be something that you are fully familiar with,
38:01
because it's how the old man should be gone, and the new man should be there,
38:08
and those things that were part of the old man should be gone out of your life
38:12
and rid, and now you've put on the new wardrobe.
38:15
Some of us are depending on Sundays and Wednesdays or one podcast a week to
38:23
feed our souls and educate our heart and mind.
38:28
I don't know when you're worshiping, but we should be familiar with the Word
38:32
of God. It should not be foreign.
38:34
It should be read often, consulted always, and we should be very familiar with
38:39
it. The Word should live in us.
38:41
The word should shape our thinking. The word should align our desires with Christ.
38:46
And the word should guide our decisions.
38:49
And a life filled with the word will be marked by wisdom, teaching,
38:54
encouragement, worship, and gratitude.
38:58
In verse 17, we hear this. And whatsoever you do in word or deed,
39:04
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Thank you.
39:11
No part of your life is outside Christ's authority or vision or protection.
39:19
Whatever you do, you do in the name of Jesus.
39:23
Whatever you say, you say it in the name of Jesus. You're his ambassador.
39:28
His light is in you. You are charged to carry it.
39:32
And when you do something in the name of Jesus, it's to do it under his authority.
39:37
You're commissioned by him for his glory. and definitely in a way that reflects his character.
39:46
Ask yourself this question.
39:49
Can I do this under God's authority? Can I speak these words I'm getting ready
39:55
to say in the name of Jesus?
39:59
Can I hold on to this bitterness in his name?
40:04
Can I pursue this goal, this purpose, this ambition in the name of Jesus?
40:11
Jesus, live your life in such a way that your actions and your thoughts,
40:16
they line up with the Word of God.
40:18
And you are proudly modeling His life through yours.
40:25
And His example is where you're setting your sights.
40:30
And you are giving thanks to the Father through Him.
40:33
When you do that, you're fully aware that every good gift, it comes from Him.
40:40
And that salvation itself is a gift of grace through Christ.
40:46
Don't put sin to death in order to earn salvation. We put sin to death because Christ has saved us.
40:55
The Christian life is not self-improvement.
40:59
This book, the Bible, is not a self-help book.
41:04
It's the greatest transformation a person will ever have will come from the
41:11
work that is wrought from this book, the Holy Bible?
41:14
The greatest advice, the greatest pattern, the roadmap of how we're to live
41:19
our life, it's all in here.
41:23
But it's not self-improvement. It is Christ-formed transformation.
41:29
The living word of God will transform us.
41:33
The same Jesus who forgives us also changes us.
41:37
The same grace that rescues us also teaches us to live differently.
41:42
And the same Spirit who gives us new life gives us power to walk in the new life.
41:48
You don't have to go out and buy your wardrobe.
41:52
All you got to do is ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find.
41:58
And knock and it shall be opened unto you.
42:02
Put off the old and put on the new. Remember you are loved. Jesus loves you.
42:10
Thank you for joining us for today's podcast. You can find quotes and scripture
42:14
references from this episode in the show notes.
42:17
We pray today's message has been a blessing. If it has, please consider leaving
42:22
a rating or review on your podcast platform.
42:25
Your feedback helps others discover the truth of God's Word.
42:30
You can connect with Woman at the Well Ministries through our app at WATWM.org
42:36
and on Facebook and Instagram.
42:38
While you're there, learn more about Bible Bits, Kim's daily devotional delivered
42:42
Monday through Friday by text message, and the Bible Bit Podcast.
42:47
Thank you for your prayers and support. Remember, Jesus loves you. You are loved.